Kendall Jenner's Pepsi Ad Is 'Tone Deaf' And People Are Fuming

UPDATE - April 5, 2017: Pepsi is pulling an ad that has been widely criticized for appearing to trivialize protests for social justice causes.

"Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding," the company said Wednesday in a news release. "Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize."

NEW YORK — Model and Kardashian clan member Kendall Jenner's turn as a Pepsi-wielding protester has some on social media decrying the imagery as appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The "Live for Now Moments" video released Tuesday has Jenner in a platinum wig on a photo shoot when protesters amble by. She rips off her wig, smears away her lipstick and joins them, eventually handing an officer on the demonstration line a can of Pepsi. He gulps some down, and then grins as Jenner dances off.

Reaction on social media called the imagery "tone deaf."

The Kendall Jenner Pepsi fiasco is a perfect example of what happens when there's no black people in the room when decisions are being made.

Others said it evoked a widely circulated photo of Black Lives Matter protester Leshia Evans last year in Louisiana. Evans was detained when she approached police at a demonstration in Baton Rouge.

Lone activist Ieshia Evans stands her ground while offering her hands for arrest as she is charged by riot police during a protest against police brutality outside the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, July 9 2016. (Photo: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters)